Palin tells Oprah 2012 run not on radar

In a much anticipated interview with television host Oprah Winfrey that aired Monday, Sarah Palin tamped down speculation that she might run for president in 2012 and took shots at CBS News’ Katie Couric, who conducted a series of interviews with the former Alaska governor that seriously damaged Palin’s standing in 2008.

Palin’s appearance on Oprah, the first in a media blitz that includes several high profile interviews and an eight-state tour promoting her book, was taped last week and ran just prior to Tuesday’s release of her book “Going Rogue.”

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When asked about her plans for 2012, Palin said that a presidential run in two years is “not on my radar screen right now.”

“I am dealing with so many issues that are important to me,” she said. “What I am seeing every day is that you don’t need a title to be important.”

Palin – who resigned as governor of Alaska in June – said that she left office “because I wasn’t going to run for a second term” and that she felt she had already become a “lame duck.”

“My dad’s quote sums it up: ‘She’s not retreating, she’s reloading,’” Palin said of her decision.

Looking back on her run for vice president with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the GOP’s presidential nominee, Palin said the pair lost because “our ticket represented what was perceived as the status quo.”

“I wasn’t to blame for losing the race, just like I wouldn’t have gotten credit for winning the race,” Palin said.

Palin said she did not take early speculation that she would be McCain’s vice presidential choice “too seriously” because “there were the other names that were really being considered much more seriously.”

Still, Palin said when McCain called her to ask if she would join the ticket, it was “not such a shocking call” and that she responded by saying, “Yes, I would love to. Yes, I’d love to contribute.”

When Palin traveled to Arizona to meet with McCain’s staff and go through the vetting process, she said she was “surprised” that the Republican’s aides knew that her daughter Bristol was pregnant.

“I was surprised too that we didn’t handle the issue better,” she said.

Palin insisted that she did not approve of the statement that went out from the campaign announcing Bristol’s pregnancy.

“I read it,” she recalled, “and I said ‘no, no, no. Here’s our opportunity to tackle the problem of teen pregnancy in America.”

“I rewrote it, and a couple hours later I see that first statement scrolling across the [television] screen,” Palin said. “That was an indication of how things would go.”

“I thought it might be an issue,” the former governor said about her daughter’s pregnancy. “But I also thought there was more realism about American life.”

“I was naïve to think that the media would leave my kids along,” she continued. “I wasn’t given that privilege of being able to protect my kids, my family.”

Media coverage of her and her family remains a sore spot with Palin, who was extremely critical of the media during her hour-long sit down with Winfrey.

Palin disparaged Couric’s approach to a series of interviews that were conducted soon after the Alaska governor was picked as McCain’s running mate, suggesting that she had been misled and unfairly treated by the CBS news anchor.